AFC Ajax, short for Amsterdam Football Club, founded in March 1900, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is a Dutch professional football club.
In 1911, the club advanced to the top division of Dutch football and won the Dutch National Cup in 1917, claiming its first national championship. They successfully defended the title in the 1918-19 season, becoming the only team in the Dutch football league to achieve an undefeated season. In the following years, the club won the Dutch Western League three times, but their performance in national competitions was not outstanding. However, the club improved in the 1930s, winning the national championship in 1931, 1932, 1934, 1937, and 1939.
In the 1970-71 season, the team defended the Dutch Cup and reached the final of the European Cup in 1971, where they defeated Panathinaikos 2-0 to win the European Cup. Cruyff was also named European Footballer of the Year. After winning the European Cup, the team signed Kovács as coach. In his first season, the team won the European Cup, the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Dutch Cup, achieving a three-peat. In the following season, the team won the 1972 Intercontinental Cup and defended their Eredivisie and European Cup titles, becoming the first club since Real Madrid in the 1950s to win the European Cup three times in a row.
Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, having won the Eredivisie 36 times and the Dutch Cup 20 times. Since the establishment of the Eredivisie in 1956, Ajax has continuously participated and is considered one of the "Big Three" clubs in the Netherlands, along with Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.